


Two Birds

by cecania



Series: The Lowlander [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avvar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 03:31:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4988503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecania/pseuds/cecania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair needed to get out of the hold and Teo needed a gift. The simplest solution was for them to go together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Birds

**Author's Note:**

> Set in my Lowlander verse, roughly fifteen years before the Lowlander takes place. Just another backstory kind of piece that’s been rattling around my head for a while now and I thought I would share.

 

            Kicking his feet at the ground, Alistair did his best not to grumble. It wasn’t his fault, it truly wasn’t. But he had been told that he knew better, that he should watch his mouth, mind his tongue, keep his head bloody well down so it was nearly on the ground. He knew that he wasn’t a favourite in the clan, especially not after his father and brother had died, but the way they looked at him sometimes made him wonder if he had ever really been wanted in the hold.

            “Come on, Alistair.”

            Not everyone looked at him like that though, the man leading him away from the hold being a good example. “Where are we going, Teo?” he asked, hurrying to catch up to the other’s longer stride.

            “I told you,” he chuckled, “it’s a secret.”

            Alistair paused to give him a funny look. “You’re not…going to kill me are you?” he asked warily.

            The rumbling laugh that left the man made Alistair grin. Teo was always smiling and laughing, especially at his children, but it made him feel special that he could get him to laugh like that. The deep belly laugh people only did when they were especially happy. “I didn’t take you into my home to raise you with my own sons to simply kill you now,” Teo said, turning to ruffle Alistair’s hair.

            “Hey! No!” he yelped, jumping back and trying to smooth it back down.

            “Who are you trying to impress, lad?” he asked in amusement.

            “No one,” he muttered, staying out of Teo’s reach this time.

            Another low laugh. “Come then. I wanted to show you something.”

            “Why did we have to get up so early?” Alistair complained after a few moments of silence had passed. “Is it really that far?”

            “No,” Teo said, pausing to look around. “I didn’t want anyone to follow us.”

            Alistair wasn’t so sure Teo was telling the truth about not killing him. He knew their Thane would have liked to toss him off the mountain most days, but it wasn’t like he purposefully tried to irritate the man. He just had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and it always seemed to land him in front of Diarmaid. Of course, it didn’t help that the Thane’s sons were a pack of brutes no better than wild dogs.

            He rubbed his arm before stopping as the bruise on it sang out in protest. Sorcha had helped speed up the healing process, but it had gone deep and she had left some of it to remind him not to get into fights. Cullen still wasn’t impressed with him, or maybe it was the black eye he’d earned when he’d tried to haul Alistair out of the fight with the two older boys. Of course that had only made Cullen drop Alistair to respond with his own fists and the four of them had wound up in front of the Master of the Hunt and the Battle Master. Diarmaid’s boys had tried to say they wanted their father to stand in on the punishment, but neither of the men had budged. Their Thane wasn’t going to preside over a petty squabble between four teenage boys who should damn well know better than to pick fights with each other.

            Of course, Teo had handed them over to Egir and he had worked them into the ground for hours, drilling them with every weapon on the mountain. It had been horrible, his body already aching from the hits the brutes had gotten in on him and Cullen not going easy on him at all. Sure, he had wanted to learn more about the drills and fighting but not like this.

            Sorcha had been full of scolding words when they had dragged themselves home at the end of the day, weary and wanting to simply collapse into their beds. But she had made them strip down so she could see the wounds, poking and prodding at every sore spot and healing only the ones she deemed fit to receive magic. Cullen’s younger siblings hadn’t made matters any better, Branson and Rosie giggling across the room and making faces at the boys that disappeared whenever Sorcha looked at them.

            After the healing and the scolding had been done, though, she had hauled them both into her arms, hugging them tightly. Alistair hadn’t told her or anyone how much he appreciated those hugs. They’d been few and far between for too long but Sorcha seemed to have hugs to spare and was always grabbing one of her children to cuddle, him included. Growing up without a mother, Alistair hadn’t realised how desperate he had been for that kind of contact until his family was gone and he’d been brought into this household.

            Cullen said that his mother fussed, that she was _always_ fussing-making sure braids were done right, that clothes were clean, checking if someone so much as coughed to see if they were sick, and tucking them in at the end of the night. He’d been grumbling about it last night from the lower bunk of their beds but it wasn’t anything Alistair hadn’t heard from him before.

            _“We’re almost old enough to dance and she’s treating us like we’re Rosie’s age!”_

_“Shouldn’t take it for granted, Cullen. At least you have a mother.”_

That whispered conversation in their room had stopped short after that because Branson had wanted to know why Alistair didn’t have a mother. Cullen had shushed him quickly but the younger boy had still wanted to know. He wasn’t sure what Cullen had done, possibly smothered the boy in one of the pillows they shared but the question had still hung in the air. He’d wanted to forget about it because he didn’t know why he didn’t have a mother. No one had ever told him because his father had never wanted to talk about it and his brother hadn’t known anything.

            He looked at Teo, a frown on his face. He’d never thought to ask Sorcha or him about it, not wanting to seem ungrateful after they had gone out of their way to adopt him into their family. Because he was grateful. More than grateful since he had had no idea what he was going to do when his father and brother had both died in a raid. The house that had always seemed too small was too big and too empty for him now. He’d had the foolish thought to pack all his belongings and leave in the middle of the night. The Thane already hated him, a boy of ten years, and he didn’t have the shield of father and brother to keep him safe anymore.

            He hadn’t even made it halfway to the gate when Sorcha had found him. She hadn’t stopped him, not outright, had merely offered him another choice, another life really because they both knew there was no way he was going to be able to survive outside of the hold. So she had tucked him under her arm and walked him back to her home. Alistair had tried to tell her that it would just be for the night because leaving in the dark wasn’t a good idea. Sorcha had merely nodded before ushering him into her home where Teo had been sitting at the table, little Rosie on his knee. She’d been babbling happily as she’d bounced and then thrust little hands out to him to be held.

            He’d never had a little sister, or a brother for that matter, so he hadn’t been sure about it but she hadn’t lowered her hands until Teo had scooped her up to drop her in Alistair’s arms. He’d been frozen with shock because he’d never held a baby before, but Rosie had simply tugged on his cotton shirt and rubbed her face against his chest, cooing and babbling the entire way.

            _“She likes you,” Sorcha murmured, gently taking his pack and getting him to sit at the table._

_“Why?” he said in surprise._

_“Rosie is a good judge of character,” Sorcha said quietly as she set his pack near a closed door. Where did it go? One of the bedrooms where their children were sleeping?_

_“Clearly she doesn’t know me well enough,” he muttered._

_He felt both of the adults looking at him but he kept his gaze on the head of blonde curls resting on his chest._

_“Alistair, I’m not going to speak ill of your father or your brother when they’ve gone to the Lady,” Teo said quietly, “but however your life was in Maric’s house, it won’t be the same here. You are welcome to stay here, with us, for as long as you want.”_

_“Just tonight,” he mumbled, feeling the tips of his ears heat._

_“If that’s what you wish,” Sorcha said softly. “Here, there’s some stew that’s still warm. Would you like to eat something before we tuck you in?”_

            That had been five years ago and he had given up thinking that it would only be for a night. Sorcha and Teo’s home was warm and accepting and he loved it there. Even if Cullen always sighed at his jokes, Bran and Rosie loved them, loved him like he was their brother as well. Teo and Sorcha treated him almost exactly like Cullen, expecting the same things from him and praising him for the accomplishments he achieved.

            Would it be rude to ask about his mother?

            Twisting his fingers in his shirt, he gave up all pretense of thinking about it. “Teo, can I ask you something?”

            “Of course, lad.”

            “Why doesn’t anyone talk about my mother?” Oh, great job, Alistair. No lead in, just blurt out the question like an idiot.

            But Teo didn’t say anything about that, just made a long humming noise. “I had wondered when you were going to ask,” he admitted.

            Alistair’s heart leapt into his throat. Did that mean that Teo was going to tell him about her?

            The man sighed, running his hand through his loose hair. “I don’t know much about her,” Teo said. “Your father wouldn’t speak much of her or how he met her or even how you came about.”

            “I couldn’t have just magically shown up at the hold though!” he protested.

            “No, but that’s almost what you did. Have you met Duncan before?”

            Duncan? “The clanless wanderer?” he asked hesitantly.

            “Aye. He came to Sky-Bear Hold one night and would speak to none save your father. After he left, your father had you, a tiny babe that no one had any idea about. But Maric said you were his son and we weren’t going to argue with it. Especially not as you started growing and looked every inch like your father’s line.”

            Alistair’s mouth twisted. That didn’t tell him anything, left him with more questions.

            “What I do know is that one winter your father left to help the Stone-men under the mountains. He wouldn’t speak much of it when he got back, never seemed quite the same after it, but almost nine months later, Duncan brought you to him.”

            He gaped at the man. “I’m half-stone-man?!” he demanded.

            Teo threw back his head and laughed, startling birds from the trees.

            “It’s not funny!” Alistair said, stomping his foot when Teo staggered into a tree to keep himself upright. “Teo!”

            He was wiping away tears when he finally contained his laughter to small chuckles but Alistair wasn’t appeased. “No, lad,” he said, sounding breathless. “I don’t know who your mother was, but she was no stone-daughter. I can promise you that.”

            Alistair sulked because Teo was still laughing as they started out again. He still didn’t have more answers, but at least he had asked? He hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted but at least he had gotten an answer. Sort of. Not really. But it seemed that no one had the answer he wanted.

            He froze when Teo paused at the edge of the trees, looking out over the land and all his laughter seemingly forgotten. He waved Alistair on and he felt chills race over him as Teo pulled one of the axes from his belt. Were they going to fight something? Were they hunting? He wasn’t ready for either of those things!

            But when an old cottage came into view, he was even more confused. “Is this yours?” he asked.

            “No,” Teo chuckled. “It hasn’t belonged to anyone but the land in a very long time.”

            “Then why are we here?” Alistair mumbled.

            “Because you needed to get out of the hold for a while.”

            Alistair flushed slightly. “I wasn’t complaining,” he rushed to say. “I mean, it sounded like it, I know. I didn’t, I’m not ungrateful! I appreciate everything you and Sorcha have done for me! I know you didn’t have to, but you did, and I have a home now and I’m sorry.”

            Teo was smiling at him, shaking his head. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Alistair,” Teo assured him. “I needed to come here and you needed to get out of the hold. Two birds with one stone.”

            He rubbed his arm, avoiding the bruise. Except he knew that he had done wrong, starting the fight when he shouldn’t have. But Teo and Sorcha weren’t mad. Cullen wasn’t mad, not _really_ , and, well, he was further from the hold then he had ever been before. That was exciting wasn’t it? “Why are we here?” he asked curiously as Teo led him into the run down cottage.

            “I lied a bit, lad. Sorcha told me that I should show you this and share my secret with you.”

             Alistair perked up. “Secret?”

            “Aye. As I have my lady kissed by fire, so will you and I think this will work well in your favour.”

            He was still confused until they stepped out of the back of the cottage. “This is where you get Sorcha’s roses!” he cried.

            Teo chuckled. “Aye, it is.”

            Alistair gaped at the garden around him. It was completely overrun, clearly neglected for years, but everywhere he looked there were roses blooming. Big, red flowers along the broken walls, half opened buds trailing along the side of the house, and creeping over everything in between. He and Teo’s actual children had all wondered where Teo had found the roses he always seemed to give Sorcha every year on special occasions but he hadn’t expected it to be at an abandoned house in the Lowlands! “How…did you find this?” he whispered.

            “The Lady showed it to me one day while I was hunting when I wasn’t much older than you. I’ve kept it a secret from all but my Sorcha but even she doesn’t know exactly where it is and I only told her because she wouldn’t stop badgering me about where I got her roses from.”

            Nodding slightly, Alistair stopped suddenly. “Cullen doesn’t know?” he squeaked.

            “No,” Teo said, shaking his head as he moved over to one of the rose bushes. “Cullen won’t need roses when his lady comes.”

            “But I will?” he said, completely and thoroughly confused.

            “Roses aren’t a bad thing to give your lady,” Teo said, setting aside the axe in favour of a small knife from his belt. “But since only nature herself tends to the garden, don’t take more than one or two at a time so that she has a chance to grow more. Do that and there will always be a rose for your lady.”

            Alistair’s nose wrinkled slightly. He wasn’t too sure about all of this ‘your lady’ talk. There wasn’t a girl in the hold beyond Teo’s girls that really wanted anything to do with him.

            But Teo was standing as soon as he had cut two blooms, both of them only half open, from the bush. “Can you carry these, Alistair? I’d rather not squish them in my pack.”

            He nodded quickly and held out his hands. He promptly yelped as a thorn snagged his thumb.

            “Careful,” Teo murmured. “Just because it’s beautiful doesn’t mean that it can’t defend itself. But if you’re careful and patient with it, you’ll be allowed to keep that beauty for yourself.”

            He gingerly held the flowers with his other hand and popped his thumb in his mouth to suck on the cut. “Am I giving them to Sorcha?” he asked around his thumb.

            “Aye, you can give one of them to her but I’ll not have you sweeping my lady away from me, scamp.”

            Alistair grinned at him as Teo playfully swung at him, dancing out of his reach. “Not my fault you’re old,” he teased.

            “Old?” Teo repeated, offended. “I’m not old.”

            “Sorcha calls you old bear all the time!”

            “Aye, well she’s my wife,” he stressed. “I can’t do much about her calling me that, but you? Aye, I can do something about you!”

            Alistair yelped again and took off running when Teo came at him. But he didn’t make it far before a hand latched onto the back of his vest and hauled him off his feet. “No!” he yelled, kicking his legs as he was lifted and dumped over Teo’s shoulder. “Put me down!”

            “Old,” Teo grumped, ignoring him as he walked through the house carrying Alistair. “I’ve got five children under my roof and they’re all developing smart mouths. Old!”

            Carefully cupping the flowers, Alistair fought a grin and lost as Teo kept grumbling about what Alistair had said. He knew the man wasn’t mad about it and this playful nature was something he loved about living with Sorcha and Teo. They were love and laughter and enjoyed playing with their children more than anything. And he was always included in that. As far as they were concerned, Alistair was part of their family and he wasn’t going to do anything to ever make them think otherwise.


End file.
